Teddy Bear night with the Junior Canadians

The HMN Junior Canadians, a club with strong area connections that plays in the United States-based International Junior A Hockey League’s (IJHL) elite division will be holding a Teddy Bear night this Saturday during its home game against the Exeter Freeze.

Spectators at the game, which will unfold at the St. Laurent Arena beginning at 7 p.m., are asked to bring along a stuffed toy, which will be thrown on the ice between the second and third period. The toys will then be donated to the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Junior Canadians, who entered the IJHL this season along with Pointe Claire-based Webster College, currently find themselves in first place. Along with Webster College, the Junior Canadians cater to elite players from bantam to junior who are looking for another option, particularly one that involves staying home, while continuing to play a very high calibre hockey of junior hockey.

Bullets win tourney

The Pierrefonds-based midget AAA Brookwood Bullets and Pointe Claire-based West Island Lakers of the Montreal Metropolitan Basketball League travelled to Kanata, Ont., recently to participate in the Chris Paulin Memorial Basketball Tournament. When all was said and done, the Bullets found themselves returning home with gold medals draped around their necks. Head coach Adrian Salazar’s Bullets defeated Steve Brayne’s Lakers in an exciting semifinal match. The victory over the Lakers was sweet revenge for the Bullets, which suffered defeat at the hands of the Lakers in a regular season game in Pierrefonds last month.

Local grapplers in Kingston

John Rennie High School Wrestling Club members Derek Lanni and Joel Lanni hit the road recently, destination Kingston, Ont., to compete at the Kingston Open Wrestling Tournament. When all was said and done, Derek Lanni captured bronze in the senior division while Joel Lanni gold in the junior division.

Abbott hoopsters finally lose

When Scott Mawhinney took over as head coach of the CEGEP AAA John Abbott Islanders men’s team two years ago, he promised to rebuild the program from the bottom up through local recruitment and help from the many contacts he had made over the years while coaching at Sun Youth. It seems apparent Mawhinney has come through on his promise. The Islanders head into the Christmas break with an impressive 6-1 record, having suffered their first loss of the season last Friday night against Ste. Foy, 91-82. The defeated came on the heels of their 87-74 home victory over the Vanier Cheetahs on Dec. 1 at Casgrain Gym. In that game, centre Marvin Bazile had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Also in double figures were Rachid Nguinambaye with 18 points, Anthony Moore had 14, Kyle Bernard 13, and Sasha Louis 11.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, the Lady Islanders lost 82-66 to St. Foy last Friday night, a week after disposing of the Vanier Lady Cheetahs 65-53. In that game, Teresa Semalulu led the way with 25 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Stephanie Lawrence had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while Danay Baker-Andresen had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Cheung excels

Kirkland resident Elaine Cheung captured gold in girls’ singles and mixed doubles at a recently held under-19 provincial badminton tournament. It was a surprising effort by the 15-year-old Cheung, who was competing against athletes two to three years older than her. Cheung, who recently gained sponsorship, trains for several clubs in the Montreal area, including the Pierrefonds-based West Island Badminton Club. She’s currently considered one of the top-five junior badminton prospects in the province.